Rockford area woman invites customers to 'come find your happy' at new store
Aggie Cain draws and has a knack for making miniature furniture, clothing and people out of ordinary household items.
But one of her more interesting gifts, if not the quirkiest, is her ability to write backwards in cursive.
"When I was little, she would write me letters backwards and instead of saying things like fish, she would draw one," said Cain's granddaughter, Sarah Homola. "It was fun."
Now that Homola is grown, her 92-year-old grandmother remains a constant source of love and whimsy, and she's even the inspiration behind Homola's new Cherry Valley business, Aggie's Uncluttered Cottage.
Homola describes Aggie's as an upscale resale consignment boutique.
It opens Aug. 26 in The Bricks in downtown Cherry Valley.
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Homola, said her store will be a place "where vintage meets contemporary, and the countryside meets the beachfront." It will offer new and vintage women's clothing and novelty gifts from local vendors.
It will also be a place where people can come and "find their happy," Homola explained.
"Grandma has always been my happy," Homola said. "She's always been there for me."
Over the years, Cain has supplied Homola with endless amounts of comfort through her quirky, memorable sayings, some of which Homola is turning into T-shirts for the shop. They'll bear messages such as "Call me. I listen to tears" and "Faith is a refusal to panic."
The store is less about "grandma's things" than it is about that feeling, Homola said.
"It's more about caring and things that make you happy," she said. "Come find your happy. Find your balance."
Homola said she plans on keeping the boutique uncluttered to a point where customers can come in and "still feel that breath of fresh air and see new things."
For more about Aggie's, visit shopaggiescottage.com.
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: The Bricks in Cherry Valley, Illinois, welcomes a new addition
